I love history. I don't believe in karma. However, I have what I consider to be my "karma picture." You know, that picture taken of you zillions of years ago showing you doing something, holding a toy, or a pet. You might be posed in front of a building, object, or monument that at the time seemed somewhat incidental and insignificant. Perhaps it's the Halloween picture of you in a fireman's costume. Today you find yourself somehow engaged in a career relative to that picture. Not making any sense? Listen up, and I'll explain.
My parents took us on a lot of vacations. My sister and I were never consulted as to destination. We just got in the backseat of the Grand Prix (1966), and looked out the windows, awaiting our fate/destination. Sometimes we counted cars or cows, along with the Burma Shave signs. We found ourselves in Florida (before Disney), Michigan, South Carolina, Maine, and Virginia. The trips were chronicled for posterity by our dad and his Kodak.
My sister hated sand in her shoes and between her toes but she especially hated the sun in her eyes. So there are many shots of her standing on various East Coast beaches dressed in her bathing suit, her feet in snow boots, wearing sunglasses. They could be considered her karma pictures as she now lives in the mountains of North Carolina, far from the seashore.
The trips were rarely history-related. Once my dad told me he had no interest whatsoever in history. So I suppose the trips to the Smithsonian were tortuous affairs for him. I, on the other hand, became a history nerd at a very early age. I watched The Liberty Tree on The Wonderful World of Disney, read Laura Ingalls Wilder, and every historical novel I could find in my local library. I grew up in the Golden Age of Television that included Bonanza, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, and every other costume drama around.
My picture was taken a little closer to home. Family members were visiting and my parents decided to take them to Gettysburg. I don't know how much of the battlefield we visited or how many times we actually got out of the car and walked around. I know for certain we exited the car on Oak Ridge; site of the opening salvos of the battle. How do I know? A picture was taken of me standing in front of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. Technically, it is the side of the monument, not the front. Regardless, it is my karma pic.
I denied the calling of History. I entered Towson State as a Music major and left four years later a Geography and Environmental Planning major. Finally, years later I gave into Cleo, the Siren/Muse of History, and earned a degree in History; followed by a M.A. in American Studies.
About ten years ago my mother sent me the picture. As I had forgotten the visit to the Park, the picture astonished me. I showed it to a friend of mine who just smiled at me. "See, you are right where you're supposed to be." That particular day I was wearing my green and gray National Park Service-sanctioned uniform. I had been working as a seasonal ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park for two years. I served at Gettysburg for four more years before leaving to work for The National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Maryland.
Everyone has a karma picture hidden away somewhere. Maybe you haven't recognized it just yet, but it is there. Perhaps you should sift through those boxes and albums. You just might find yourself.
